Won the battle, lost the war
by jellybeanblondie
Summary: At the end of season five, Dawn sacrifices herself to save the world. What happens when she is brought back? (Yay! Brand new chapter! wahaay!)
1. Falling through the sky

Chapter One  
  
Disclaimer - I own nothing. Not even the plot, which is highly upsetting.  
  
Rating - pg-13 to start off with. Will get higher.  
  
Summery - I was going through my old buffy tapes and thought 'what if Dawn was the one to leap off the tower?' starts from the last episode of season 5. Reviews are very welcome.(please!)  
  
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As Dawn looked down at the swirling mass of white light, she realised she was going to be alright.  
  
"Dawn, you can't," Buffy said. The pain was evident in her voice.  
  
"Buffy, I have to," Dawn replied. "It's started already." She was right. Unidentifiable demons were appearing everywhere, tearing the area around the bottom of the makeshift tower apart.  
  
She looked down. She saw Giles standing over the body of Ben, Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya fighting off demon, glory minions lying dead. And she saw spike, waking from the unconscious state he had been in from where Doc had thrown him off the tower.  
  
Dawn turned back to Buffy, tears in her eyes.  
  
"My blood started it, my blood should finish it. I have to do it."  
  
"No," Buffy choked "Dawnie, I can't do this without you, please-" she broke off there, unable to imagine a life without Dawn. Yet somewhere in the back of her mind, a thought registered. 'you did before' the voice says, 'she wasn't even real.'.  
  
Dawn looked at the emotion rushing across her sister face and looks back toward the swirling maelstrom. More demons were materialising but the scoobies weren't fighting them anymore. They were staring at the portal. She turned.  
  
"I love you Buffy, but I have to do this. Please tell everyone I love them and to carry on the good work. Please Buffy, live. For me."  
  
She took one last look at Buffy tearstained face and turned towards the portal. She ran, knowing that when she jumped, she would be taking her last breath. She smiled as she hit the white pure light feeling warm, safe and content. And then she was gone.  
  
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The scoobies stared at Dawn's battered body laying on the ground. Willow buried her face into Tara not wanting to look at the girl she'd considered a surrogate sister. Xander bowed his head as a mark of respect and Anya clung to his arm, feeling as if she let go, she would drown. Giles sat heavily on a pieces of debris, clenching his teeth and Spike kneeled by the girls body, mumbling under his breath, tears streaming down his cheeks. And when Buffy numbly descended the tower, and saw her sister laying, still on the ground she realised, while they might of won the battle, they had lost the war.  
  
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	2. The dark place

Chapter Two  
  
Disclaimer - See last chapter  
  
Summery - See last chapter. Also sorry about the length of that last chapter. I personally hate short chapters so I will definitely make this one longer.  
  
Reviews - are so welcome. They warm my heart on these cold winters nights.  
  
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"Are you sure this is a good idea, Wills?" Xander questioned, a hint of doubt creeping into his voice for the first time since they had first discussed the plan. "And why can't Buffy and Spike know?"  
  
" Xander, I know I can do it," Willow replied firmly. "And we don't want Buffy to know because it's a surprise. Have you seen how introverted she's become? If we do this we can have Dawn and Buffy back." She paused. "Anya, did you get the Urn of Osirus?"  
  
"Yep." Anya chirped. "Found it on ebay."  
  
"You found the Urn of Osiris on ebay?" Willow said, disbelief evident in her voice. "Do you realise-"  
  
"Sweetie, calm down," Tara intercepted. "Are you sure you're going to be okay doing this?"  
  
"I'm going to be fine!" Willow replied. She was starting to get annoyed. Didn't they realise this was their only chance. And if they didn't get it right - no, she didn't want to think what might happen if it didn't go right. This was their only chance and she wasn't going to screw it up.  
  
"Where is Buffy going to be tonight?" asked Xander  
  
"I've persuaded her to have a night off from slaying. You put her feet up, relax, have a bath, that kind of thing." replied Willow.  
  
"So tonight, we meet here and go to dawn's grave." Anya said.  
  
"Yes" willow said, her voice becoming stronger. "Tonight we're bringing Dawnie back.  
  
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At a bar on the outskirts of sunnydale, the demon equivalents of Hell's angels were sat drinking and planning.  
  
"So the slayer's sister is dead, huh?" said, what appeared to be the gang's leader, in a heavy Texan accent.  
  
"That's right," said the small vampire minion, " Slayer's not been doing her job properly. Everyone knows the towns wide open." The minion spread his hands and gave a repulsive smile at the last part.  
  
The leader narrowed his eyes. He might be big but he wasn't stupid.  
  
"And what do you want out of it?" he questioned the scrawny vamp.  
  
"Well I was thinking, well, that, you know," the vampire stuttered, " even though vamps and demons normally mix, that you might, well, consider letting me join the gang? I mean, I'm useful, you know." He got braver. "I found that info on the slayer, didn't I? And I can go places without being recognised, places you couldn'-"  
  
He was cut off by the leader. "You're right" he said, winking at the demon behind the vamp.  
  
"I am?" the vampire stuttered, then recovered, not wanting to seem weak in front of the big red demons with their piercings and leather. "well of cour- "  
  
he was cut off again. " you're right." The demon repeated "demons and vamps don't mix."  
  
The demon smirked as the vamps head was ripped clean off his shoulders. As dust from the vampire just began to settle on the seat, the demons had revved up their bikes and headed to sunnydale.  
  
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Spike wandered down main street, not noticing the people bustling around him. He still felt numb, one hundred and forty seven days after she had thrown herself off the tower. He still couldn't believe she was gone, that she was never going to come to his crypt complaining about buffy and homework and school and other trivial matters. He couldn't believe he was never going see her long brown hair and her big blue eyes looking at him as he told her about the things he and Dru got up to during the eighteenth century.  
  
He often wondered if it had been Buffy that had died ,whether he would of felt this bad. The only thing breaking up his days was fighting the occasional vampire in the graveyard. He mostly just sat and thought. Mostly about dawn.  
  
He knew the scoobies thought he was going soft, refusing to let them touch her room, not letting them ask the authorities to take down the tower she leapt off. He knew that they knew that he still thought she was going to come back, some divine intervention from a god he didn't believe in.  
  
The only one who was taking it worse than he was, he thought, was Buffy. She slayed every night, but normally ended up sitting at Dawn's grave early on in the night. She wasn't actually killing the vamps and he knew that one of these days, demons were going to find out she wasn't guarding the hellmouth anymore and were going to take over.  
  
He wasn't really in love with her now. His 'burning passion' for her had resonated down to a quiet place in his heart. They had spent many nights by his lil' bit's graveside just talking. They were okay with each other now. Suddenly the people around him started screaming. He looked up. A gang of demons had rode in to sunnydale. He looked at their number and knew he couldn't take them alone. He turned and ran for Buffy's.  
  
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Buffy sat on her couch, watching the T.V. She was restless. Willow had ordered her to take a night off from slaying. However she still couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. She gave a sigh and settled down to watch the T.V again.  
  
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"My lighter won't work!" Anya whined.  
  
"Here, use mine." Xander hushed, giving her the lighter. When Anya had managed to light her candle, willow spoke up.  
  
"Right, I need you all put your candles on floor and join hands. And remember, whatever happens don't break the circle."  
  
They joined hands, all except for Willow, around Dawn's grave. Willow started chanting in an ancient language, her eyes turning black. Then massive bloody gashes started manifesting them selves on her arms and face. Xander started forward.  
  
"No!" Tara hissed. "Osiris is testing her. If we break the circle, it won't work!"  
  
However, even she looked concerned when Willow started convulsing. Seconds later, a massive python slithered slowly out her mouth. Gripping the grass, she started the last part of the spell.  
  
There was then a massive roar. The scoobies looked around at each other, trying to confirm whether it was Willow making that noise. Then Anya screamed.  
  
"Oh my god! We have to move!"  
  
As the demon bikers surrounded them, willow started screeching. The bikers whirled around the grass, forcing the scoobies to split up. Tara and Anya ran into the woods in one direction, leaving Xander to grab willow and pull off her in another direction, yelling at Buffy's.  
  
The demons grew tired of destroying the grave, and left, but not before they knocked over a small urn filled with blood. And as they roared off into the distance, they didn't notice a small bloodied hand clawing it's way through the ground.  
  
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	3. Rioting never brings good things

Chapter Three  
  
Disclaimer - see chapter 1.  
  
Summery - again see chapter 1.  
  
Review – please review!  
  
To everyone who has sent me e-mails and reviews about the story, I am going to carry on with it, it's just taken me a long time to keep writing it. Thank you for all your reviews. :) I would answer individually normally but I don't have time right now, so thank you all again. Hopefully the chapter should be up in a couple of weeks now my exams are over. Yay!  
  
Buffy woke with a start when she heard a violent banging at the door. Slowly she hauled herself off the sofa to answer it.  
  
When she pulled the door open, Spike was standing there, panting.  
  
"Demon gang," he panted, "tearing up main street. Need help."  
  
"Okay." Said Buffy, grabbing her coat and switching off the T.V. "Let's go."  
  
After they had walked a little way, Spike spoke up. "We need to split up." He decided.  
  
"What makes you say that?" asked Buffy  
  
"Because I can smell where they've gone. They're everywhere." He replied.  
  
"Right, you do the centre of Sunnydale, I'll do the cemeteries. We'll meet back at my house." The only confirmation buffy got from Spike was the whoosh of his duster as he turned in the opposite direction. She sighed and set off to find the demons.  
  
Finally Willow and Xander stopped running. Xander dumped Willow unceremoniously down on what looked like a dry patch of grass. She was still unconscious after screaming herself hoarse. She was now, though, beginning to wake up.  
  
"Dawnie?" she croaked.  
  
Xander looked down at her in pity. "Will, sweetie, it didn't work. I think those demons smashed the urn. I'm sorry."  
  
Willow started thrashing around in his arms. "No, no it had to work! Oh god, it had to!"  
  
"Wills, it's okay, we can get another urn, it's okay-"  
  
"No you don't understand, there is no other urn! It's gone!" Willow moaned.  
  
"What!" Xander asked, disbelieving.  
  
"There is no other urn! There's no other urn and there's no other Dawnie! It didn't work! We failed!" She sank back down into Xander's arms sobbing her eyes out.  
  
Dawn awoke in the dark alone. She gasped for air, trying to place her surroundings. Where had the light and the warmth gone? Somewhere in her dazed stupor she realised she needed to get out of the small enclosed space she was in. Maybe if she got out of here, she could feel safe again. She started clawing at the silky lining, her nails wearing down. Finally she managed to break the wood, gasping as she felt the cold soil fall onto her midriff. She forced her hands upwards, feeling the blood seeping out of her knuckles as she dug her way upwards. She felt the soil brushing past her face and smelt the earthy smell of the soil. Finally her hand pushed through the surface. She hauled herself out, laying down as she gathered her breath. She realised she hadn't breathed for a long time. Hadn't needed to.  
  
She sat up, the air feeling cold and suffocating, almost as bad as the wooden casket she'd been enclosed in. She could hear roaring and laughter, the sounds too loud and blaring for her sensitive ears. She looked up at the midnight black sky. This was hell for sure.  
  
Buffy tracked the demons through the cemetery, her spider senses tingling. She soon realised that she was headed near Dawn's grave. She stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at it. The grass around it was all torn up although a tractor had been riding round it. A vase had been broken and what looked like blood oozed around it. And the most disturbing thing was, the grass in the middle looked like, like someone had dug themselves out of it.  
  
"Dawn?" Buffy whispered, her voice a mix of disbelief and joy. Then a scream interrupted her daze. This time she yelled.  
  
"Dawn!"  
  
After she had dug herself out of her grave, Dawn knew she was in hell and that she needed to get back to the light. She dragged herself up slowly and headed for the only place she remembered. The tower.  
  
As she walked, she didn't realise fires were burning in windows or people were screaming around her. It was only when a big red demon, with horns and leather pants stepped in front of her she realised she wasn't alone.  
  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here then?" it drawled. "Looks like we're going to have a bit of fun after all."  
  
The demon dragged Dawn into an alley. Other demons were there as well, smoking cigars and playing with flick knifes.  
  
The demon who had dragged her there didn't waste any time in hitting her across the face. She screamed, feeling the pain. She lifted her hand to her lip, feeling the blood drip down.  
  
The demon hit her again, this time sending her flying into the wall. As the demon went to hit her again, she saw its head wrenched from its body and the body flung to the floor. She saw a small blonde woman standing there.  
  
"Dawnie?"  
  



End file.
